Jumaat, 21 Oktober 2016

Power and Terror – Post 9/11 Talks and Interviews

Author: Noam Chomsky

Publisher: Little More, Tokyo 2002

I borrow the book from Penang Public Library in Georgetown. It was a small book, easy to read, and contain mainly interviews which Chomsky discuss the American exceptionalism and brutal repression to accomplish its foreign policy agenda, mostly to safeguard American control on resources and geopolitical power in the middle-east, Asia Pasific and Central America.

Noam Chomsky is a professor of linguist at MIT, but he was
widely popular for his works in the political sphere. Where he along with
Howard Zinn were a fierce critics of the US foreign policy. The book discussed
in depth the role that the US has played in the international stage, rampaging
small countries and using force to dominate the oil reserved.

Chomsky is a bit witty in his remarks, he mark Israel as
thug operated by their master, the mafia don, which refers to the US. In his
words “when the master speaks, the servant obeys”. This is in light of the
optimism that people had when they see that the US now seems to have some
consideration for the Palestinian cause. In fact it wasn’t, argued Chomsky.
What happen was that the tanks in Palestinian soil seems to interrupt Dick
Cheney’s mission. That is why the US politely asked Sharon to withdraw them.

Israel is the American base in the middle east, it supported
the US policy and help them to be accomplished. This reason alone, made it
valuable to US. For example in 1967 Israel crushed Arab Nationalist, this
service is done to ensure that the US influence in the region remain firm, an
independent and democratic society in the middle east will undermine US
strategic interest.

Chomsky also elaborate on how the US consistently blocking
the peace settlement, by vetoing the UN resolution. The Geneva Convention also
can be seen as a perfect example on how the US is alone in international views.
The forth Geneva Convention makes what US and Israel did to the occupied
territory a war crime. In 2000 the UN security council voted that the Geneva
Convention applies to Israeli Occupation, the vote was 14 to 0, but the US
choose to abstained.

What the US used as a pretext to invade other countries
seems paradoxical to Chomsky’s thought. They said that it is the ‘war on
terror’. Saddam Hussein is a maniac which kills his own people with poison gas,
that is why the US need to come and free the Iraqi from this brutal tyrant. The
only missing fact is that the tyrant atrocities was done using military
equipment supplied by the US. To end terror, Chomsky note “everyone’s worried
about stoping terrorism. Well, there’s a really easy way: stop participating in
it”.